The No. 7/8-ranked Colorado College Tigers return home for an NCHC weekend series against No. 11/10 St. Cloud State, Nov. 22-23, at Ed Robson Arena. The series opener on Friday, Nov. 22, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Live streaming and live stats links can be found on the CC Hockey schedule page at CCTigers.com.

Getting Started
The 2024-25 season marks the 86th year of varsity ice hockey at Colorado College and 12th season as a member of the National Collegiate Hockey Conference. CC was a charter member of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (1951-52) for 62 seasons before joining the NCHC with seven other schools prior to the 2013-14 campaign.

How To Listen / Watch
Both games will be broadcast live in the Colorado Springs area and Southern Colorado on KRDO NewsRadio 105.5 FM / 95.5 FM / 1240 AM with the 'Voice of the Tigers' Ken Landau and streamed on NCHC.tv. Friday's contest will be televised on SOCO CW, with Josh Howe and Brandon Straub on the call.    

Last Time Out
The Tigers collected three points at #13/11 Western Michigan last weekend ... On Friday, Gavin Lindberg and Zaccharya Wisdom scored 70 seconds apart in the first period, but No. 13/11 Western Michigan rallied with three straight goals, including the overtime game-winner by Tim Washe, for a 3-2 victory. Washe collected a pass from Owen Michaels in front of the net and beat Kaidan Mbereko with 1:38 remaining in the extra frame. Lindberg opened the scoring with his first career goal at 5:24 of the opening frame. Just 1:10 later, Wisdom took a cross-ice pass from Ethan Straky and scored into an empty net from the post to the right of Rowe. Tristan Lemyre put the Broncos on the board at the 9:50 mark of the third period when he beat Mbereko from the slot. Grant Slukynsky evened the score with 3:41 remaining in regulation, setting up the overtime period. Mbereko was spectacular in net again for the Tigers. He finished with 36 saves as WMU outshot Colorado College, 39-14 ... On Saturday, Mbereko made 27 saves, including seven in overtime, in a 1-1 tie. Tyler Coffey scored in the seventh shootout round to give CC the extra point in the NCHC standings. Klavs Veinbergs scored the game-tying goal at the 15:03 mark of the second period during a delayed penalty to send the game to overtime. Veinbergs took a pass from Noah Laba at the top of the right circle, cut to the middle and beat WMU goalie Hunter Slukynsky (27 saves) for his team-leading fifth tally of the season. Ty Gallagher collected his team-high seventh assist on the play. Matteo Costantini opened the scoring with an unassisted goal from the top of the slot just 3:55 into the contest, then Mbereko took over. The reigning NCHC Goaltender of the Year stopped everything else on the evening, including seven shots in the overtime and four of WMU's shootout attempts. Coffey then started his attempt to the right, moved to the left and placed a wrist shot over the left should of Slukynsky.
 
Best Start in 22 Years
Colorado College's 8-1-0 record is the best start after 10 games since since the 2002-03 season (8-1-1).     

Highest Ranking in Nearly 13 Years
Colorado College is ranked No. 7 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 8 in the USA Hockey / The Rink Live Top 20 poll. The No. 7 ranking marks the highest for the TIgers since they were ranked No. 6 on Jan. 2, 2012.  

The Coaches
Kris Mayotte is in his fourth season at the helm of the Tigers. He came to Colorado College after serving two years as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan, and was an assistant coach for Providence College when the Friars won the NCAA Division I title in 2015. Mayotte is the reigning NCHC Coach of the Year … Brett Larson is in his seventh season as head coach at St. Cloud State after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Minnesota Duluth. He also was an assistant with the Bulldogs from 2008-11 and helped UMD win the NCAA Division I national title in 2011 and again in 2018. Larson led St. Cloud State to the NCAA Division I Championship game in 2021, falling to UMass, 5-0, in the final.
Previous Meetings
St. Cloud State leads the all-time series against Colorado College, 65-52-9, including a 37-24-3 advantage in Colorado Springs. The teams split a series at Robson Arena last Frebruary, with SCSU winning 2-1 in overtime on Feb. 2 and the TIgers capturing a 5-3 win on Feb. 3.

Most Overtime Wins in the Country
Colorado College leads the nation with three overtime victories this season.

Balanced Scoring
The Tigers have nine players that have at least six points this season, led by graduate transfer Ty Gallagher, who has nine (2g,7a). Klavs Veinbergs follows with eight (5g,3a), while Zaccharya Wisdom, Max Burkholder, Drew Montgomery, Bret Link and Noah Laba  each have seven apiece. Two other players have six points. Veinbergs tops the team with five goals, while Gallagher has a team-high seven assists.

Mbereko Named Back-to-Back NCHC Goaltender of the Week
Junior Kaidan Mbereko earned his second consecutive KJ Branding NCHC Goaltender of the Week award after allowing just three goals, Nov. 1-2, against Air Force. Mbereko made 25 saves in Friday's 3-2 overtime victory, then stopped 27 shots, including nine with Air Force on the power play, on Saturday in a 6-1 win. He also won the award the previous week following CC's sweep at Alaska Anchorage. Mbereko is tied for second in the nation with eight wins, ninth with a 1.49 goals against average and tied for 11th with a .941 save percentage.  

Mbereko, Laba Named To Preseason All-NCHC Team
Juniors Noah Laba and Kaidan Mbereko were named to the 2024-25 National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Preseason All-Conference Team. Thirty (30) ballots were submitted by local media members from each school, as well as select national media. Laba was one of two players, joining defenseman Zeev Buium of Denver, that were named on all 30 ballots. Denver senior forward Jack Devine followed with 26 votes, while North Dakota sophomore defenseman Jake Livanavage collected 25. Mbereko received 22 votes as the team's goaltender.

Preseason All-NCHC
F: Noah Laba, Jr., Colorado College – 30 votes (unanimous)
F: Jack Devine, Sr., Denver – 26
F: Cameron Berg, Sr. North Dakota – 11
D: Zeev Buium, So., Denver – 30 (unanimous)
D: Jake Livanavage, So., North Dakota – 25
G: Kaidan Mbereko, Jr., Colorado College – 22

Another Tough Schedule
The Tigers are scheduled to play 12 of their 34 regular-season games against teams that competed in the 2024 NCAA Division I Hockey Championships, and eight against six of the last eight national champions (Denver, Minnesota Duluth and North Dakota). In addition, CC will play 24 games against teams that were ranked in the USCHO.com preseason Top 20 poll, seven NCHC opponents (excluding Miami) and Providence.

Tiger Tales
The Tigers have allowed 16 goals this season, the fewest allowed in the first 10 games of a season in program history ... CC does not have a multi-goal scorer in a game this season ... Kaidan Mbereko is tied for second in the country with eight wins, seventh in save percentage (.941) and ninth in goals against-average (1.57).

12 Newcomers on '24-25 Roster
Twelve newcomers join the Tiger hockey program for the 2024-25 season.The class consists of eight incoming freshmen and four transfers. The incoming class consists of Nick Baer (Bismarck Bobcats – NAHL), Owen Beckner (Tri-City Storm – USHL), Philippe Blais-Savoie (Tri-City Storm – USHL), Jordan Brisson (Chicago Steel – USHL), Brady Cleveland (University of Wisconsin – Big Ten), Ty Gallagher (Boston University – HEA), Ryan Koering (Muskegon Lumberjacks – USHL), Gavin Lindberg (Waterloo Black Hawks – USHL), Chase McLane (Penn State University – Big Ten), Carsen Musser (Madison Capitols – USHL), Fisher Scott (Dubuque Fighting Saints – USHL) and Charlie Strobel (University of Minnesota – Big Ten). Six of the players (Beckner, Cleveland, Gallagher, McLane, Musser and Scott) have been drafted by NHL franchises.

Tigers Picked Third in NCHC Preseason Poll
Colorado College was picked third in the 2024-25 NCHC Preseason Poll.

1.    Denver – 263 points (24 first-place votes)
2.    North Dakota – 241 (4)
3.    Colorado College – 200 (1)
4.    St. Cloud State – 149
5.    Omaha - 137
6.    Western Michigan - 127 (1)
7.    Minnesota Duluth – 115
8.     Arizona State - 80
9.    Miami - 38

Most NHL Draft Picks on Roster in Two Decades
With six of the 12 newcomers (three transfers and three freshmen) joining Noah Laba, Klavs Veinbergs and Zaccharya Wisdom as National Hockey League draft picks, the 2024-25 roster has nine players that have been drafted by the NHL. That tied for the third-most on a roster in program history. The 2003-04 and '04-05 rosters each had 10 draft picks, while there were nine on the 2002-03 roster. The Nov. 1 game against Air Force was the first time all nine were in the lineup.